AR State Conference NAACP v. AR Board of Apportionment, No. 22-1395 (8th Cir. 2023)
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The Arkansas NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, two advocacy groups with members living throughout the state, oppose the new map. They sued nearly everyone who had anything to do with it under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. After reviewing the text, history, and structure of the Voting Rights Act, the district court concluded that private parties cannot enforce Section 2. The enforcement power belonged solely to the Attorney General of the United States, who was given five days to join the lawsuit. When he declined, the case was dismissed.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court held that Congress did not give private plaintiffs the ability to sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The court explained that in substance, the advocacy groups asked the court to excuse the absence of text because legislative history answers the question. The court explained that at one point, this approach may have held sway. But here, the legislative history does not complete the statutory story. Rather, it tells a different story, one not reflected in the text of anything Congress passed. To the extent that legislative history can be helpful in any case, this one is not it.
Court Description: [Stras, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Gruender, Circuit Judge] Civil Case - Voting Rights Act. Congress did not give a private remedy to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act; plaintiffs, two advocacy groups with members living throughout the State of Arkansas, could not sue to challenge the State's new map of congressional districts under Section 2; the district court's judgment dismissing plaintiffs' complaint is modified to be without prejudice and is affirmed as modified. Chief Judge Smith, dissenting.
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